A Bond of Olympic Proportions
by IrishIris
Summary: The new Master/Padawan team of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are entered into a Olympic-like competition by Master Yoda. Will they embarrass themselves in front of the whole temple? Or maybe Yoda has something else in mind...
1. Chapter 1

Title: A Bond of Olympic Proportions

Author: IrishIris

Summary: The new Master/Padawan team of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are entered into a Olympic-like competition by Master Yoda. Will they embarrass themselves in front of the whole temple? Or maybe Yoda has something else in mind...

A/N: Ok, here's my first fanfic EVER! Reviews would be GREATLY appriciated!

He had been balancing on his head for over an hour when the alarm went off. Dramatically dropping to the floor and sighing loudly, Obi-Wan attempted to let his master know how much he disliked the punishment. But in reality, however, meditating upside down was Obi-Wan's favorite punishment for trivial matters. The calm and control that the awkward position brought the teen through the Force was unparalleled, and Obi-Wan hoped Master Qui-Gon would never find out how much he enjoyed it.

Exiting his bedroom after making a quick stop at the 'fresher, Obi-Wan found a pacing Qui-Gon in the common room of their shared apartment. The usually reserved and stoic master had a bewildered expression on his face, which, if Obi-Wan had been his padawan long enough, would have alerted him to the severe nature of his master's earlier meeting with Master Yoda. Thinking Qui-Gon was impatient on his account, Obi-Wan bowed low and said regretfully,

"Master, I apologize for taking longer than necessary with my punishment. My head was throbbing a little and I wanted to be more clear-minded before meeting back up with you."

Qui-Gon waved his hand to dismiss the apology, and then spoke as he continued his pacing,

"Believe me, young Padawan; I would be much happier right now if my current state of mind was merely caused by your being tardy. It seems as though you and I have, unwillingly, been forced into another one of Master Yoda's 'brilliant' plans."

Obi-Wan was taken aback at his Master's assessment of Yoda. As of this point in his thirteen-year-old life, he had never even considered the fact that Master Yoda- or any master- might have flaws. Even Qui-Gon, who sometimes got on Obi-Wan's nerves, must always have a well though out reason for acting as he did, right?

Qui-Gon started again, "Apparently, by some freak will of the Force, there will be a Master/Padawan Olympiad next week. Yoda has specifically requested that you and I are among the competitors, though for the love of the Force I can't understand why, seeing as though we've only been together for a few months."

It was all Obi-Wan could do not to stare at Qui-Gon open-mouthed. An Olympiad? This was too good to be true. From the moment he had met Master Qui-Gon, it had been drilled into him that to be a Jedi involved nothing but hard, hard work. And hard, hard work had been what Obi-Wan lived and breathed the past few months. If Yoda was suggesting an opportunity for fun, Obi-Wan would make _sure_ that he and Qui-Gon were participants- no matter what.

"Though I don't doubt either of our abilities in such a contest," Qui-Gon rambled, "I do wonder at our teamwork abilities, compared to some of the other masters & padawans that have been together for many years. Since it seems as though Master Yoda will not take 'no' for an answer, you and I are going to be putting in some extra practices in preparation. That is, if you're up to it, Padawan?"

Extra practices were not what Obi-Wan had in mind when he had thought "no matter what", but no price was too high. For the next several days, Obi-Wan allowed Qui-Gon to drill him through more than double his usual amount of Force strengthening exercises, lightsaber duels, and anything else his Master found "appropriate preparation material". However, unbeknownst to his padawan, even Qui-Gon was not sure if the preparation materials would really prepare the team; the details of the contests were being withheld from all competitors.

At one point, Master Yoda dropped in to observe a particularly intense exercise where Qui-Gon was instructing Obi-Wan in advanced telepathic techniques, in hopes that they could counter the other Master/Padawan teams with the advantage of very developed bonds. Master Yoda merely shook his head and muttered a soft, disappointed "hmmm" as he hobbled away. This apparent rebuke merely drove Qui-Gon to train his young pupil harder, to the point where Obi-Wan nearly dropped in the middle of the Room of a thousand fountains.

By the eve of the Olympiad, Obi-Wan could barely crawl into his bed, thoroughly exhausted both mentally and physically. While the past week had been one of the most rigorous he'd ever been through, he fell asleep with a smile on his lips, knowing that the next day would make every drop of sweat worthwhile.

A/N: Hit me with you're best shot- constructive critisisms very welcome!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I, regretfully, do not own Star Wars or any recognizable characters. If I did, I wouldn't have to spend so much time looking for scholarships for college. *sigh*

The excitement that Obi-Wan had slowly built up over the past week reached new heights as he and Qui-Gon entered the competition space. Spread out across the considerable room were different stations marked out with names Obi-Wan couldn't read, a spectator area to fit half of the temple, and in the center, there was a small circular chair with a meditating Yoda in it. Over towards the side, there were ten spots reserved for the ten duos participating, each with a label bearing the team members' names and a small multi-purpose droid.

As he and Qui-Gon went down the line searching for their own space, Obi-Wan read the names listed and realized with a sinking feeling that each of the other nine teams had been working together for _years_ longer than he and Qui-Gon had been a team. Although he'd never physically met any of his opponents, he'd read about some of their heroic efforts on various field missions, and if those records were any reflection of their true abilities, he and Qui-Gon should just leave the arena now, quietly, and hope that they hadn't been spotted yet.

No sooner had he completed this thought when Yoda snapped out of his meditative trance and looked sharply at Obi-Wan. "_Act cowardly, you should not, Obi-Wan. Had a reason, I did, for inviting you here_," a calm, Yoda-like voice said through the force.

Remembering to release his fears to the force as he tried to take Yoda's advice to heart, Obi-Wan glanced up to his much-taller master and gave him what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Looking a bit surprised at such confident behavior from his young apprentice, Qui-Gon spoke quietly,

"I'm sure I don't have to tell you that we're fighting a loosing battle. I'm afraid all the extra practices we put in this week will mean nothing here. However, I'm very proud of the way you're taking this unexpected news. You're acting like a Jedi beyond your years, Padawan."

Obi-Wan absolutely beamed under this unexpected praise from his stoic master. He supposed that if he couldn't compete with the goal of winning, he could concentrate on doing Qui-Gon proud.

After the pair had found their designated spot (which was conveniently at the end of the competitor's row) and unloaded the few preparatory items they'd brought with them, a scratchy Yoda voice came over the loudspeaker,

"Ready to begin, we are. Competitors- come to the center of the area, you will now."

Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon shared a brief "you ready for this?" glance as they started towards the middle.

A/N: Ok, I was wondering if I could get your help here. I have some ideas for the challenges, but would you rather I wrote all ten out, or merely did one or two?

Thanks for your reviews everyone!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Here's chapter three, enjoy! I don't own Star Wars, sadly.

After three hours worth of competitions, Yoda and the small judging panel (which was made up primarily of Council members) gave the masters and padawans a fifteen minute break. Qui-Gon immediately put himself into a meditative trance, and suggested that Obi-Wan did the same.

At first, Obi-Wan seriously considered meditating upside down, since he was in dire need of the Force to relieve the stress occurring in both his body and mind. However, he knew that doing so would only give away his secret, so he settled for the traditional, semi-kneeling position. While starting his meditation, he reflected on the past three contests.

The first challenge had seemed simple enough when Yoda had explained it. He and Qui-Gon were told to telekinetically push a piece of pipe to fit in with the rest of its tube, and when the water from the pipe squirted upwards, they would be finished. However, he and Qui-Gon quickly discovered that the pipe piece was made of a very heavy, force-resistant metal, and required the combined force powers of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan to lift it. This presented the real problem, because whenever Qui-Gon had used all of his strength, and Obi-Wan was to come in with the final push necessary, the two forces working on the pipe repelled each other, and the pipe crashed to the ground. The pair worked for the full hour allotted to the challenge, and never managed to get the pipe more than a meter off the ground. However, the other nine teams found the challenge as difficult as a warm-up, and had completed the task within the first fifteen minutes.

The other two events were just as humiliating. One included a piggy-back style partner carry obstacle course, in which Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon only placed SECOND to last due to one team's unfortunate combined weight. The other test involved a game much like hide & seek, only while one master/padawan team was hiding, the other team was seeking- blindfolded. The seeking team was supposed to sense their opponents through the force and tag them to end the round. After a few misplaced lunges at "targets", including a trash can, a medical droid, and even Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan conceded defeat on behalf of his master (who was catching his breath after having it knocked out) to end their participation in trial #3.

Just as Obi-Wan was returning to reality from his semi-consciousness state of meditation, the words "SOCK DRAWER" came to mind without explanation. But before Obi-Wan could attempt to figure out why, Yoda came on the loudspeaker announcing the end of the fifteen minute break. Just as Obi-Wan was walking into the competition space, Qui-Gon caught his arm looking very excited.

"I know what the next event is! Yoda just telekinetically gave out all the directions and instructions. In less than a minute, he'll simply yell the word GO and we have to run off and complete the task. I'll explain to you what's going on once we're on our way- there's no time now."

True to Qui-Gon's word, as soon as all the teams were assembled in the arena, Master Yoda screeched a "GO!", leaving some very confused teams scratching their heads. As Obi-Wan took off after Qui-Gon and out of the arena, he assumed that those were the teams he had seen simply talking or eating, instead of meditating like he and Qui-Gon had. Unfortunately, it didn't look as thought Yoda would be repeating his directions any time soon, so the race was quickly narrowed down to seven teams.

As soon as they were a safe distance from any of the other teams, Qui-Gon slowed his pace a bit to run beside his Padawan. Between light huffs & puffs, and the occasional pause for removing hair that flung into his mouth, Qui-Gon explained their next task: "Yoda has sent us on a scavenger's hunt. There are twelve unique items on our list, so I assume that the first team to find all of them and bring them to Yoda wins. The first three items should be relatively easy for us, and they're all in the same general location- the Jedi Archives."

The pair made small work of the first three items- a book from section 1,936BB row 12; any book written in the year 896 BBY; and one of Master Tahl's Noorian necklaces (which she was more than glad to lend to Qui-Gon, but unfortunately, she refused Obi-Wan's request to hide her other necklaces from the other opponents). However, none of the other items would be as easy to retrieve, Qui-Gon assured Obi-Wan; next was a blue marble from any of the Temple's younglings.

Assuring his master he knew just the right place to find one, Obi-Wan lead his master down towards one of the main eating halls and ordered a handful of sweet candies. Despite their strict adherence to diets that would only nourish their bodies, certain Jedi had weaknesses for treats in moderation, so the kitchen staff kept a select few under their counters. Ignoring his master's raised eyebrow, Obi-Wan just smiled and raced down towards one of the halls that younglings held their marble tournaments. Upon arriving, he found the room teaming with marbles and younglings.

Qui-Gon, however, knew that he should try to act like the Master he was, so he quietly told Obi-Wan to put the sweets away as he crouched down to the level of one small Iktotchi youngling.

"Hello there, little one," he started politely, noting the boy's awe at being spoken to by a master, "I was wondering if I could borrow your blue marble there, for an hour or two?" He inwardly smiled, thinking how easily he was going to get item #4.

"NO!!" the boy yelled loudly, cradling his marble and forgetting for a moment who he was talking to. Then, more reverently, "No, please, master. My blue one is the best-est one I have. But you can use my red one! It's, uh, _kinda_ pretty."

After politely asking all of the younglings if he could borrow their blue marbles, Qui-Gon discovered that they ALL loved their blues more than their other colors, a convenient piece of information Yoda must have known about. Realizing he wasted precious time being polite, Qui-Gon motioned for Obi-Wan to bribe the younglings. As they ran off in search of the fifth item, the lucky child was fending off other fast approaching children who were hoping to snag a piece of the candy.

A/N: I was going to write more in this chapter, but I haven't updated in a very long time. Sorry for the cliff-hanger! Reviews are appreciated :)


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Wow! I updated! Yes, I had forgotten, but it shows what a moral booster one single review can be. Thanks! Oh, and I don't own anything, yadda yadda.

Chapter 4:

After learning the intricate details of every inch of the Jedi Temple (including a few heating ducts), a glistening Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan ran into the competitor's arena with their arms full of "treasures". As they set all twelve items down in front of Yoda and the judging panel, Obi-Wan snuck a quick look at the competition to see if they'd placed last yet again. Much to his surprise, the only teams present in the room were the originally disqualified three.

Yoda cleared his throat and Obi-Wan's head quickly snapped upright. "Missing an item, you are," Yoda said, obviously amused, "but well you have done so far. Keep trying, you should." And with a definitive shake from his gimmer stick, Yoda hobbled away.

"What does that insufferable troll mean, we're missing an item? We most certainly are not!" Qui-Gon ranted quietly under his breath as he plopped to the ground in a manner _most_ unlike a Jedi Master.

Obi-Wan racked his brain for any possible explanation. He was about to join his master before he remembered the curious word that had sprung to mind directly before the scavenger's hunt. "Sock drawer" he remembered.

"What was that Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon asked indifferently, obviously still deep in thought.

"I said nothing, Master," Obi-Wan answered carefully, just in case his master was in one of those, "Life isn't fair, this is a fact of life, so I should teach you this by punishing you whenever I feel like it even if you've done nothing wrong" moods.

"Come now, don't play with me Obi-Wan, I most certainly am not up for your games. I heard you speak. What did you say?"

"I'm sorry Master, I said nothing aloud…but I was thinking?

"Do you expect me to believe we've established a bond? Out of the blue?" Qui-Gon smiled condescendingly. Obi-Wan said nothing, since that was exactly what he thought; it was the only possibility.

"Well then I'll humor you. Think of something. Anything you want."

As any teenaged boy would, Obi-Wan began to think about food. Particularly, those sweets that he had so carelessly given to the temple's younglings without thinking to stash one somewhere.

Obi-Wan was quickly shaken out of his reverie, "Stop that!" Qui-Gon ordered sharply. Then after a moment's pause and a careful study of Obi-Wan's face, "You're making me hungry." At that, Obi-Wan cracked a smile, his first real smile in a very long time. Qui-Gon seemed surprised, Obi-Wan noted as his master grinned in his own particularly crooked fashion, perhaps he had never seen a smile on his padawan's face.

"Well, that was quite the discovery. But you never answered my question, Obi-Wan. What was it you, "said"?"

"Oh!" Obi-Wan brought himself back to the present, "I just remembered that right before this scavenger's hunt, the word "sock drawer" came to mind, though for the life of me I coulnd't figure out why. Now I feel rather foolish for not mentioning it sooner."

"Don't worry about it, padawan. I have a pretty good idea where this "sock drawer" is, and what is inside it that we need. Let's go!" Qui-Gon finished as he bounded upwards with surprising speed for a man his age.

Unfortunately, Qui-Gon heard the jist of the sentiment through the newly-formed bond and commented wryly, "We're going to have to work on your blocking skills, Obi-Wan. Tomorrow, if possible." Obi-Wan had the good grace to blush slightly as they raced out of the arena once again.

"Where to, Master?" Obi-Wan asked between gasps of breath as he struggled to keep up with Qui-Gon's relentless pace.

"You know, Obi-Wan, you are allowed to call me Qui-Gon. We mustn't be so formal all the times," he answered looking over his shoulder.

"Duly noted," Obi-Wan managed to puff out. He burned to ask Qui-Gon to let up the pace, but he figured he should push himself just a little further to avoid suffering the embarrassment of admitting weakness in front of his Master- err, Qui-Gon.

Qui-Gon lessened the pace immediately, almost as if he could sense his padawan was struggling. Then cursing himself, Obi-Wan remembered the bond.

"You know," Qui-Gon spoke softly, "if you stretch out your awareness, you should be able to pull some extra strength out through the Force."

Obi-Wan tried it. He relied on his sense of Qui-Gon's nearness as he closed his eyes, sending his senses out through the temple's garden where they were running through. He nearly stopped in his tracks as he encountered all the force-signatures in the room. From a small grouping of butterflies, to a school of fish, and even to Master Yoda, somewhere on the far eastern side.

Once Yoda's signature filled Obi-Wan's mind, Yoda's voice followed suit, "Empty, it will be. Trust not Master Qui-Gon's instincts only. Your own ideas, important, they are." After this brief and unsolicited bit of advice, both Yoda's voice and force-signature disappeared from Obi-Wan's consciousness without a trace.

All at once remembering that he had been running, Obi-Wan opened his eyes to find himself some distance away from the garden, and instead in front of Master Windu's quarters.

"Ready for a bit of fun, padawan?" Qui-Gon asked amusedly as he opened the door and waltzed in.

A/N: And that's it! Sorry for the bit of a cliff-hanger… ok, you're right. I'm not sorry at all. :)


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I updated! Gold stars for me! I don't own Star Wars or anything else you recognize, unfortunately.

Chapter Five:

Obi-Wan could only gape as Qui-Gon began to ransack his best friend's bedroom, muttering, "It has to be around here somewhere." Obi-Wan tentatively entered the spacious apartment which was quickly being covered by the contents of Master Windu's dresser.

"Qui-Gon," Obi-Wan asked as he dodged a pair of air-born skivvies, "what exactly are you looking for?"

Qui-Gon stopped his frantic searching instantly, almost as if he had forgotten Obi-Wan was in the room. He blushed a deep shade of red before answering, "Well, um, it's a holo-image, Obi-Wan." He would have left the discussion at that if he hadn't received one of his padawan's signature "come on, get real" looks. He sighed and said, "I'm not sure if I should be telling you this, Obi-Wan." The story's forbidden beginning only made Obi-Wan even more anxious for the tale. Qui-Gon continued, "One night, many, many years ago back when Mace and I were very young Knights, we celebrated a friend's birthday and became quite intoxicated, Mace more than myself. In fact, he was so intoxicated, he decided it would be a grand idea to put on ladies clothing. And he did. And he danced around in them. I took a holo-image for blackmail purposes-"

"You blackmail him!" Obi-Wan interrupted, quickly forgetting that his Master was never a perfect role model.

"Oh, only once in a while, and it's all in the spirit of fun!" Qui-Gon retorted defensively as he threw a wad of socks at his padawan, "But anyways, I took the holo-image and hid it in his sock drawer since he never goes in here. The only other living person who knew the whereabouts of this image was the birthday boy, who conveniently whispered the words "sock drawer" in your mind only this afternoon."

"So Yoda was drunk too!" Obi-Wan nearly screeched as he dodged a second pair of socks.

Qui-Gon paled as he realized what he'd let slip, "Oops," he said. Clearing his throat, he added, "Padawan, I beg of you, do not repeat any of this to another soul, and that's on pain of upside-down meditation for a year!"

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and smiled to himself at the thought of an entire year of peaceful meditation, without saber practice or tedious lessons. When he opened his eyes, his Master was smirking curiously down at him and chuckled, "Why Obi-Wan, you never told me you enjoyed my upside-down meditations. I suppose I'll have to come up with new forms of punishment from now on, won't I?"

Obi-Wan groaned aloud as he remembered the fledgling bond, "Master, how soon can we begin blocking training?"

"As soon as we find this blasted holo-image!" he responded distractedly as he flipped the entire contents of Master Windu's sock drawer upside down. It was at this point Obi-Wan remembered Yoda's advice and warning that "it wouldn't be there".

"Master," Obi-Wan said, reverting back to the formality in his self-conscious state, "I think we're just supposed to take the sock drawer itself, not anything in it."

Qui-Gon looked up and shook his head vigorously, "No, I'm sure Yoda is remembering this old joke, why else would he have said, 'sock drawer'?"

Obi-Wan thought for a moment before finally shrugging, "He could just be trying to be random, Master." When it looked as if Qui-Gon would say no again, Obi-Wan remembered to be assertive- Yoda himself had said he was right! "Master, how about this. Since we can't find the holo-image, why don't we just go back to the stadium with the sock drawer, and if it's not the right object, we can always come back and look some more."

Qui-Gon mulled over the idea before laughing, "I'll make a negotiator out of you yet, Kenobi." Obi-Wan grinned as he picked up the overturned drawer. The master and padawan team were about to leave the bedroom before they heard a thunderous roar, "WHAT IN THE FORCE HAPPENED IN HERE!"

"Bantha droppings," Obi-Wan cursed.

"You said it," Qui-Gon agreed.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath before whispering, "Ok, on the count of three, we just run for it. One, two, THREE!"

And on three, the Great Mace Windu screamed like a youngling as two underwear-laden Jedi tore through his apartment and ran out the door carrying a small box-like object that he was sure he'd never seen in his life.

A/N: Ok, so it's a little more fluffy and comical than the rest of my chapters have been, what of it? I also operate without a beta, so if you see any discrepancies in my English, lemme know. Oh, and be a dear; leave a comment in the box ;)


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Here's the final chapter! Oh, I really love you guys for sticking with me through all of these month-long delays between my updates. Hope you don't mind a bit of mushy fluff for this ending. As always, I don't own it, can't sell it, and even if I could, I wouldn't make any money off of it :)

It was all Obi-Wan could do not to close his eyes as he and Qui-Gon entered the arena. With their current track record, he considered it entirely possible for the whole arena to have emptied before they got there, that's how late they could be.

It was to his utter shock that, firstly, the arena was even more packed since they'd left, and secondly, the whole place was on its feet, whistling and cheering. They couldn't have won, could they? No, all of the nine other teams were present and accounted for, and some of them even had sock drawers in their scavenger's hunt piles. So why was everyone cheering?

"Welcome, we do, the winners of the 1st annual Master/Padawan Olympiad!" Yoda announced with a smile.

"Winners?" Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon said simultaneously.

"Indeed," Yoda said, "About winning contests, this Olympiad was not. Creating proper Master/Padawan bonds, it was." Obi-Wan looked around him to the nine other teams as if seeing them for the first time. Most of them were looking at their feet in embarrassment, but a few were looking at him and smiling.

Yoda continued, "Gained the most from this experience, you both have. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, take this trophy home, you will."

Qui-Gon stepped forward to take the trophy as asked, but Obi-Wan stopped him with a question, "Master, if creating a bond was all this was about, how was it the other teams were able to work so well together? Didn't they already have bonds?." Qui-Gon looked completely baffled by the question and instead turned his head to see what the green goblin had to say.

"About oneness with the force, a bond is not about. Like brothers, sons, and fathers, you should be. Family." A firm sense of approval was in Yoda's eyes, and Obi-Wan felt privileged to have even seen it, much lest have it focused on him. When he looked up, he saw the same eyes looking down on him from Qui-Gon, who spoke through their small bond,

"I am proud of you too…son."

Obi-Wan didn't remember much about what else happened that day. All that mattered to him had been in that once sentence, and now it could matter less to him whether or not he became a Knight, or ate too much ice cream before bed, or told bad knock-knock jokes- as long as Qui-Gon was proud of him.

There was one thing he remembered, though.

"Master? I have a question." Obi-Wan called from the doorway to his bedroom before retiring for the night.

"Yes, _Padawan _what would that be?" Qui-Gon called jokingly from his spot on a meditation mat, never opening his eyes.

"Oh right. _Qui-Gon _I have a question," Obi-Wan corrected himself. This new, more casual relationship was going to be hard to get used to. "If you don't want to answer it though, that's ok. But you said that Master Windu never uses his sock drawer. Surely you must be mistaken?" The question might have been a bit too personal, yes, but teenage curiosity was not to be left unquenched.

Qui-Gon cracked one eye open and gave him a wry look, "Obi-Wan, haven't you ever heard of the phrase, 'going commando'?"

And with that image burned forever into his mind, Obi-Wan closed the door to his room and dived under the covers. Not long after, he found himself falling asleep to the comforting feeling of Qui-Gon's quiet meditation through their newly formed bond.

A/N: And that's all folks! I offer free shrimp dinners to all of you lovelies who decide to pass your cursor over the review button. :)


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